News Archive

Current News: Back to normal... we hope!

Posted On: Saturday 21st February 2015 by Sherylyn

Well, it looks like Tim has once again performed his magic, and things on-site appear to be working properly again now. If you do encounter errors on-site, though, please do let us know via our Facebook page, and we'll work on getting them fixed as quickly as possible.

Current News: Well, we're back... mostly!

Posted On: Friday 20th February 2015 by Sherylyn

Hi, y'all...

Just FYI, we've discovered that we've still got
some problems on-going, apparently from the server fiasco of a couple
weeks ago. Several pages/functions are still not working, including
authors' ability to respond to reviews, being able to use the "your
stories" link from Flock, etc... Tim's working on getting things working
properly again, but that's dependent upon his available time, etc., of
course.

In the meantime, let us know via our Facebook page if you find other things that aren't working on the site. We're hopeful that things will be sorted out before too long! (You know, so that we can then eventually move to another server company, just to keep things interesting! LOL!!)

Current News: New ReallyCorking Art

Posted On: Sunday 27th October 2013 by Sherylyn

Well, the last of the new ReallyCorking artwork is now set for the default on-site. Hope you enjoy it! And remember, you can always choose one of the other fabulous artworks, too, by logging in and going to "Flock" --> "Your Site Skin."

AND we have another anniversary fic today, as well. Thanks to all you wonderful people who've contributed to our anniversary celebration! And if you happen to get inspired, let us know via our Facebook page!

Current News: New artwork!

Posted On: Sunday 13th October 2013 by Sherylyn

Yes, we have another piece of ReallyCorking's art as our site banner now! We thought that using a different one each week for a while was a nice way to remember and celebrate our tenth anniversary!

Hope you're all enjoying the new artwork as much as we have been!!

Current News: More ReallyCorking art!

Posted On: Sunday 6th October 2013 by Sherylyn

We've updated the site's default banner again to highlight another of ReallyCorking's fantastic new artwork. We're a bit excited and proud of it all, as if you couldn't tell already

Wow, it hardly seems possible that it's been that many years! We hope you like the look of the new banner at the top of the page — if you do, you can thank ReallyCorking, who graciously did some new artwork to celebrate our anniversary. If you want to see more of her work, just head on over to the Flock page and click through the most recent options for site skins — they're at the bottom of the list.

We also have some new stories that will be going up over the next few days. Some of our most popular authors have been lured back to writing, and we're looking forward to posting those stories very soon. And if you happen to feel inspired as well, please send us a message via our Facebook page and we'll see about getting your story posted, too!

And, while we're enjoying celebrating our anniversary, we are reminded even more strongly that it is because of you, all of you, that we are here, and we are grateful for every one of our staff, authors, readers and members who have been part of these ten years of our history. Thank you for making these ten years so magical!

Current News: Guess what??

Posted On: Monday 16th September 2013 by Sherylyn

Our anniversary is fast approaching, and it's a BIG one! TEN YEARS we've been here, people! We may not be nearly "as" active as we used to be, but we're still here!

If anyone has something they'd like to contribute for our anniversary, please feel free to contact us via our Facebook page and we'll see what we can set up. Please note: this is NOT an open call for submissions (which is why we're not opening submissions via the site), but if you can create a short, anniversary-themed fic, poem, or artwork by the end of September, please let us know and we'll see what we can work out in regard to a beta, etc. We don't have contact with many of our betas these days, so it will strictly be a very limited basis on which we're able to do anything "new," but we'll try to get some new things posted, at least.

And if any betas are lurking in the woods around here, feel free to let us know if you'd be willing able, to help us beta things, too.

Current News: Update to hacker info:

Posted On: Tuesday 2nd April 2013 by Sherylyn

Our wonderful wizard, Jeconais, was able to remove the page that had been added by the hackers. We're hoping that this will be the end of the problem, but if any of you notice anything odd (whether via text messages or "just" by using the site), please let us know ASAP, either here via email or via our Facebook page.

Thanks!

Current News: PS has been hacked!

Posted On: Tuesday 2nd April 2013 by Sherylyn

Hi, all...

Just to let you all know that we are aware that someone has "added" a page to the PS site that's asking for banking info, etc. Please be sure NOT to add any personal info to that page (or anything else similar). We're working to fix the problem as quickly as possible.

Thanks!-The AdminTeam of PhoenixSong.net (and our resident Wizard)-

Current News: Now available: Download your favorite PS stories!!

Posted On: Thursday 9th August 2012 by Sherylyn

Hi, all... We're very happy to announce that PhoenixSong is now affiliated with FLAGfic.com. From that site, you can now enter the URL for PhoenixSong stories and then be able to download (or have emailed to you) stories in formats for mobile devices. Check out the site and enjoy!!

Current News: Fanfiction and User-Names

Posted On: Monday 11th July 2011 by Sherylyn

Hi, all! Long time, no news, hmm? For those of you who've been around for a while, I'm sure you've become accustomed to that phenomenon, unfortunately. It's not that none of the Admin Team are around or anything of that sort... it's just that, like so many others, Real Life seems to get busier all the time, and we just aren't "visible" as much these days, but we're still here, all the same.

A few little bits and pieces to mention that we thought we should share.

First, our wonderful St Margarets was the one who first alerted us to this article, from Time.com, about fanfiction. We think it's rather brilliant and thought we'd share. The Boy Who Lived Forever

Second, with the release of Deathly Hallows 2 this week ( ), it's quite possible that we may see an upsurge in people attempting to register for on Perch(our message boards). This info is posted there, too, but just as a reminder: if you're wanting to join our boards, please choose a username and email address that has some resemblance to "human" and not just some random collection of letters/numbers. There are far too many spam bots in Cyber World as it is, and we try not to allow them on our boards as well. As a related note, if you happen across spam-like reviews or other posts on the site, please be sure to click the "report review" link (or whatever is appropriate) and let us know to remove it. We try to catch those sorts of things, but even the best humans and site codes can only do so much.

Third, we'd especially like to invite everyone to visit our Facebook page. If you'd like to chat about the movie, or whatever else, there as well, we'd welcome you to do so. And there are always discussions for that sort of thing on Perch, as well.

Fourth and finally, if you can think of things that you'd especially like to happen with PhoenixSong, please feel free to let us know either via PM on the site or the boards, or via our Facebook page. We know that having submissions ASAP would be something that loads of people would appreciate, but I honestly can't see a massive submissions round happening terribly soon, to be completely honest. I'm heading back to graduate school this fall, and everyone else is up to their eyeballs as well... So, for one thing, if you can think of some ways to easily simplify a submissions process (perhaps even using something like LiveJournal or Facebook or whatever!), please feel free to let us know. We'd love to do more, but it can't cost too much, either in terms of $$ or time/energy, unfortunately.

As always, we are all thankful for each of you, and for the support and dedication of so many lovely people who've always been the very heart of PhoenixSong. Thank you, each of you, for helping to keep us going!

Current News: Kathryn is trying to get her book published

Posted On: Sunday 5th September 2010 by Sherylyn

Hello all...

Many of you will remember Kathryn, who has been a very popular author here at PhoenixSong. She recently emailed to let us know that she has finished writing her first book of original fiction, and is endeavoring to get it published. You can find out more about her efforts at her new web site (Kathryn Wild), and help support her efforts.

Also, she wanted to convey her appreciation to all of her PhoenixSong friends and fans. She said:Without the support (both reviews and the personal emails I got), I never
would have made it this far and would really like to thank those who
have helped me start this journey. It was their words that both
encouraged me and challenged me to grow as a writer, and got me to a
position where I was not only able to think about starting my own
universe but also to write the book.

We wish you every success in the future, Kathryn!!

Current News: Harry Potter Alliance info

Posted On: Tuesday 6th July 2010 by Sherylyn

Hi all... The admins received an email from the Harry Potter Alliance, and wanted to pass along the information to all of you. For further information, please check out the Harry Potter Alliance home page.

Please take 30 seconds to vote for The Harry Potter Alliance to win $250,000. Vote for The Harry Potter Alliance in the Chase Challenge on Facebook, and the HPA could win $250,000. It takes only 30 seconds. Here's how:

1.) Go to FACEBOOK, click "Get Started To Vote" and "Like" the Facebook app, then vote (green button, top right)!2.) Allow Access and then click "Like"3.) Click "Vote now" (green button, top right)4.) After you vote click here to tweet automatically.

Voting ends July 12th, but don't wait. The HPA is competing with over 500,000 organizations. Vote! Then find a friend to vote. Harry Potter Alliance for the win!

Current News: Myth & Legend has a request

Posted On: Friday 23rd April 2010 by Sherylyn

Some of you may remember Myth & Legend, author of Shadows of Silence, Eternity Lost and Cursed here on PhoenixSong. Sadly, she stepped out of the fandom's spotlight a while ago, but now she is hoping to take her writing talents one step further and put her original work into print: and she needs your help!

Her young adult fantasy, Relic, is currently ranking at #27 on authonomy.com, the writing community run by the publisher HarperCollins. At the end of each month, the top five ranking books are given to HarperCollins for feedback, and if the writer's really lucky, it could result in a publishing contract.

Myth knows that, without fanfiction — without the support and encouragement of you guys (her wording ) — she would never have thought of writing professionally. Now she's asking for a little more help on the rough road. If you want to help her out, please go to the link below (click on the book title), register at the site and click "back the book". Feedback would also be lovely!

Summary:Everyone knows the rule: Stay inside the Wall, but Tisha believes rules are made to be broken.

Tisha Tremayne does not believe the Realm Riders' stories. Monsters, demons and dead things brought to life again — they are nothing but a fairy-tale. Every day she looks at the steep, towering wall that surrounds the city of Relic, and she swears that she will find out what lies on the other side.

She never stopped to think that she might see too much.

For the rest of you who might know of other authors with similar requests — let me or one of the other Admins know, and we'll see what we can do to support you!

Current News: Submissions from August, and beta applications

Posted On: Saturday 26th December 2009 by Sherylyn

Well, as we approach a New Year, I have some good news at last! For those of you who submitted stories back in August, those have now all been sent responses at LAST!! I am sooooo sorry it's been so insanely long a wait -- this last semester was just *nuts* around here!

For those of you who sent in applications to be a beta around the end of the summer, you haven't been forgotten, either! I haven't yet finished responding to all of those emails, but I *will* get through the rest of them within the next week, if not sooner. I'll make another note here once I finish, so you'll know to check email or whatever, at least!

On another sort of note... the company that hosts PhoenixSong's server recently had a physical move of their facilities and equipment, and a "side effect" of that move is that our server's clock got re-set to show that it was January, 2002 (before PS even existed!!! ), which made some things show up reallllly oddly on-site for awhile (including having all our news posts disappear!). If you notice anything "weird" still showing up on-site, please let me/us know and we'll do our best to get things sorted out.

Thanks for your continuing support and we hope you continue to enjoy PhoenixSong as we head into another New Year! (And if anyone happened to have received any holiday gifts of money that you have no other use for [], feel free to drop in a bit of a contribution via our PayPal account. No pressure, EVER, on that, but the server costs do come out of our family budgets, ultimately, so any help is always MUCH appreciated. )

Current News: New betas, submissions, etc.

Posted On: Wednesday 16th September 2009 by Sherylyn

Hi y'all...

I know there are several of you who are waiting for responses to both beta tests that have been submitted, as well as our recent submissions . Mostly... y'all are waiting on me! I promise to get in touch with all of you just as soon as I possibly can -- hopefully this weekend, if all goes according to plan. Things got really backed up on my "to do list" as I started teaching again a few weeks ago, and I'm just now beginning to get out from under the accumulated pile! I hope and plan to respond to everyone within the next week, if at all possible. Hang in there , and thanks for being so patient thus far -- I know it's soooo hard to wait for that sort of response , and I promise that I'm working to reply ASAP!

Thanks, y'all!

Current News: SUBMISSIONS ARE COMING!!!

Posted On: Thursday 6th August 2009 by Sherylyn

After WAY too much time, and in spite of a great many good intentions, we are FINALLY going to be having open submissions again here at PhoenixSong!

We will be opening submissions next week! Submissions will be open from 12:01 AM on Thursday, August 13th, through 11:59 PM on Saturday, August 15th. (All times in US PDT [America/Los Angeles] time-zone; please check a time-zone converter for assistance.) Please see the requirements at our NEST page for further information.

PLEASE NOTE: The number of stories accepted for archival here at PhoenixSong.net will be largely dependent upon our betas' availability. We want to include as many new authors as possible, but we simply may not be able to accept everyone who makes submissions, regardless of story quality. Obviously, longer stories (especially those over ten chapters in length) take more effort/commitment from betas, so those stories will likely be accepted on a more limited basis than shorter stories.

Honestly, we're just a bit afraid of how many stories we may be receiving, since it's been such an insanely long time since we've been able to have submissions. Please bear with us as it will likely take us a bit of time to sort through submissions and try to match up betas' and authors' abilities, etc. We promise to do our best to choose stories that our readers will be eager to see, and also to do our best in regard to the stories we select for archival.

Thanks, everyone, for your continued interest and support for PhoenixSong! (Also, if you've recently volunteered for "beta duty" here at PS, please check the following news item.)

Current News: Beta Volunteer Info

Posted On: Thursday 6th August 2009 by Sherylyn

If you scroll a bit further down this page, you'll see that, a couple of months ago, we'd asked for volunteers to become beta readers for PhoenixSong. Due to a number of "Real Life Issues", we weren't able to respond to all those volunteers with the actual file for them to look at, etc., until tonight. So... if you have emailed us about being a beta, and didn't receive a reply, please feel free to let us know that we somehow missed you!

We're always looking for new betas... it's the only way we're EVER able to have submissions... which are coming soon, now! See the bit of news above for details!

Current News: New stories/chapters now able to post!!

Posted On: Wednesday 27th May 2009 by Sherylyn

Because Tim (Jeconais) is made of awesome and he's the only one who's likely to be able to fix things when they break...

... as usual

All hail Tim, without whom we *literally* wouldn't be able to do much of anything around here!!!

Looks like we're back in business, folks!! Be prepared for new chapters, etc., to now appear!!!

Current News: Are we 'working' yet?

Posted On: Tuesday 26th May 2009 by Jeconais

I would certainly hope so, no matter how old the code base.

(And I went ahead and posted Tim's "testing" message just so we'd all remember who's responsible for us being here -- literally!! ~Sherylyn)

Current News: Have you been wondering about submissions at PhoeixSong? Well, here's part of the answer ;-)

Posted On: Tuesday 19th May 2009 by Sherylyn

Hello all...

Several people have emailed in the last few months about when PhoenixSong was going to have submissions again. Those of you to whom I'm replied have all received similar messages, but spread out over several months' time. Basically... we'd love to have submissions soon, but virtually all of our staff and betas have just been dealing with all sorts of Real Life Issues, both happy and sad — getting married, deaths in the family... the whole gamut of possibilities!

So, prior to us really making an attempt at having submissions sometime within the next few weeks, we have decided that we need help in at least one area before we can go forward with other plans. Thus... the below info might be something worth checking out.

__________________________________________

HELP WANTED:PhoenixSong currently has multiple openings for beta-readers. Job Description:Since its inception, PhoenixSong has been committed to providing a home for high-quality Harry Potter fanfiction. One of the ways we've accomplished this goal is by "hiring" a staff of volunteer beta-readers, people who work with our authors to edit the stories submitted to the site and make sure they're as error free as possible. Among other things, betas check for canon continuity, fix misspellings and grammar errors, help reword awkward sentences, and act as sounding boards for plot development. Beta-reading is a great way to make new friends and get involved in the fandom (and there's the added benefit that you get to read story installments before anyone else!).

This is where you come in! Because we require each author who posts at the site to have a PhoenixSong-assigned beta, we need your help!Qualifications:Applicants must show proficiency with grammar, spelling (especially Harry Potter-related spellings and capitalizations) and Harry Potter canon. Additional skills include helping to correct tricky POV switches within a story, and a willingness to learn at least basic British-isms is a great benefit (i.e., leaving "gotten" in a story will earn you the ire of most Brit-pickers around the world ) Having an unlimited amount of patience is a big plus.

Salary:Betas are responsible for negotiating their own wages with their assigned authors upon employment. Typical wages for Entry-level positions are peanuts and day-old coffee. Wages for mid-level positions usually consist of cheese and crackers (hey, according to the dairy council, it's good enough for Santa) and the caffeinated beverage of your choice, with the occasional bonus of a cookie or two. The upper echelon often receives French chocolate and champagne. Benefit packages include the eternal gratitude of your assigned author(s), as well as having your name dropped at the beginning or end of their stories.To Apply:Inquiries should be mailed to us here. We'll send you a short story blurb to correct. When you're done, send it back for evaluation. We will contact you with our decision ASAP.

__________________________________________

Thanks, everyone! We look forward to hearing from you!

Story of the Week: "Five Times Two", by Aurora Luminis

Posted On: Monday 17th November 2008 by Sherylyn

Our new Story of the Week is "Five Times Two," by Aurora Luminis. Summary: "It is five years since Ginny first learned of Harry's brilliant win at
Quidditch, and five days since she broke up with Dean. Time to move on
to the goal of five years." This is a delightful fic about exactly what happens when Ginny gets a goal in mind... and at least one unlucky Gryffindor finds out how not to act if you don't want to be the subject of Ginny's wrath! Find out exactly what happens to whom and why, and then be sure to let Aurora Luminis know what you think of her story!

Story of the Week: "Transformations", by Capramagus

Posted On: Monday 10th November 2008 by Sherylyn

Our new Story of the Week is "Transformations", by Capramagus. Summary: "In his fifth year at Hogwarts, Remus Lupin suspects his friends are
planning some great mischief, and is afraid to ask what. He's in for a
surprise that will forever transform how he sees himself, for he
finally knows just how much his friends value him." This is a wonderful, heart-warming story of what life was like for the Marauders at Hogwarts, and you'll be very glad you read it. Please take a moment and let Capramagus know what you thought!

Story of the Week: "The Final Five" by TangoCharlie

Posted On: Monday 3rd November 2008 by Sherylyn

Hello, all! Our new Story of the Week is "The Final Five" by TangoCharlie. As she says in the summary, "Time is running out for the Potters. They just don't know it." This is about life in the Potter family household... just before the tragic events of Halloween, 1981. Read it and then let TangoCharlie know what a wonderful job she did with this story!

Story of the Week: "Wins, Firewhisky and Handcuffs" by Kathryn

Posted On: Monday 27th October 2008 by Sherylyn

Today's Story of the Week is "Wins, Firewhisky and Handcuffs", by Kathryn. This story was our second-place winner in our Anniversary Challenge, and Kathryn's delightful sense of humour and the vividness of her characterizations make it apparent as to why our readers so enjoyed it. You will, too! Be sure to leave a review for Kathryn and let her know what you thought!

Harry Potter is owned by J.K. Rowling, Warner Brothers, and its various affiliates. Without the brilliance of J.K. Rowling, PhoenixSong.net would never exist. The stories we've published here are manifestations of our appreciation for the world that she has created. That said, all fan fiction stories and artwork published on PhoenixSong.net are copyrighted by the listed authors and artists and may not be published or distributed elsewhere without the express permission of the authors and artists.

Artwork for Harry/Ginny, Ron/Hermione and Fawkes banners created by ReallyCorking (c) 2013